Vehicle frames for automobiles and light trucks currently include a pair of side rail members of C-channel or I-beam configuration. The side rail members are joined together by a plurality of cross members for supporting various components of the vehicle drive train and body. These side rails normally consist of one-piece stampings.
Under current design the vehicle frame is viewed largely as a platform, the suspension and drive train being hung underneath it and the engine and body being stacked on top of it. Heretofore, no real effort has been made to incorporate the vehicle frame as part of the suspension system.